Weaving the Mat of Belonging

by Rev Dr Paul Goh, President-Elect, Uniting Church in Australia and current Mission Activator, Mission Resourcing at Synod of South Australia

As I return home to Adelaide, on the land of the Kaurna people, after the four-day President’s Conference in Tonga (6–9 November), I offer this reflection with a full and grateful heart. Although I have long journeyed alongside Tongan and Pacific communities in Australia – and previously served a Fijian congregation in Melbourne – this was my first time visiting Tonga and, indeed, my first time setting foot anywhere in the Pacific Islands.

Being there in person – walking the land, worshipping in village chapels, sharing meals, hearing the harmonies, and being welcomed into people’s homes – touched me far more deeply than I expected.

As a Korean Australian, I was profoundly moved by the warmth, hospitality, and living faith of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT). We were welcomed not only into churches but into families and hearts. Your generosity was a living embodiment of our theme: “Threads of Love”.

Under the courageous leadership of our President, Rev Charissa Suli – the first President of colour of the Uniting Church in Australia and a proud daughter of Tonga – this gathering became far more than a conference. It was a movement of intercultural grace, a renewal of long-held partnerships, and a powerful demonstration of what it means to weave Christ’s love across cultures, oceans, and generations.

Day 1: Weaving and Worship
Our conference opened with the uplifting music of the Si’atoutai Theological College choir, preparing our hearts for worship and reflection. Her Royal Highness Princess Salote Mafile’o Pilolevu Tuita offered a profound cultural and theological reflection on lalanga – weaving – as a sacred act. A woven mat is not uniform; every strand depends on the others. Its beauty and strength come from difference woven together for a shared purpose. This image resonated deeply with our delegation from Australia, reminding us that unity in Christ does not mean sameness, but woven diversity held together through the Spirit.

Day 2: Faith that Loves, Weeps and Includes

Rev Penisimani Akau’ola Tonga invited us into the threefold love:

• ’Ofa ’Otua – love for God
• ’Ofa Fonua – love for land and culture
• ’Ofa Kainga – love for one another

This resonated with my own Korean understanding of Cheon-Ji-In – Heaven, Earth and Humanity. Across cultures, faith is not abstract; it is lived, embodied and relational.

We then heard powerful testimonies from five young Aboriginal, Asian and Pacific leaders from the Uniting Church. They spoke courageously about identity, trauma, racism, and the Church’s complicity and hypocrisy. Yet they also proclaimed a faith that loves, weeps and includes – calling us to be a Church that is authentic, relational and real.

They reminded us that young people stay when the Church provides belonging – and leave when they feel unseen or unheard.

One voice spoke a simple yet profound truth: “Here, I am seen. Here, I am loved. Here, I belong”.

These words remain with me as both challenge and prayer: that our churches may be places of belonging, not judgment; of homecoming, not exclusion. We are called to weave mats of belonging, nets of protection, and sails of hope for every culture and every generation.

Day 3: Threads of Justice

We began at Tupou College with a powerful devotion led by Dr Tangikina Moimoi Steen – formerly a member of Payneham Road Uniting Church in the SA Synod (where I had the privilege of preaching while she was leading worship) – on the theme “Threads of Justice: From Reflection to Action” (Isaiah 61:1–8; Luke 4:18–19). She reminded us that God’s mission is holistic – spiritual and social – empowered by the Spirit.

Dr Tangi outlined four strands of justice:

• Proclamation & Spiritual Liberation – Preach good news; advocate boldly against oppression.
• Healing & Restoration – Bind up the broken-hearted; comfort and heal communities.
• Social Action & Renewal – Transform despair into hope through care, prayer, and practical action.
• Priestly Service – Embody God’s presence and righteousness across cultures and boundaries.

Her call: weave these strands through talanoa – gathering, listening, restoring together under the Spirit’s anointing. She closed with Luke’s reminder: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us”.

The day continued with visits to ministries across Tongatapu – climate resilience, disaster response, poverty alleviation, disability inclusion, pastoral care for seasonal workers, and women’s wellbeing – making justice tangible. It was a profound convergence of Scripture, Tongan wisdom, Pacific theology, and practical love in action.

Day 4: Worship across Tongatapu

The final day lifted our spirits through island-wide worship.

Delegates travelled across Tongatapu to join in joyful worship with our Tongan siblings:

• At Saione Centenary Church, President Rev Charissa Suli preached a message of hope before Their Majesties King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u Tuku’
• At Moulton Chapel, Toloa, Rev Andreana Reale offered a children’s talk, followed by a sermon from Rev Peter Morel, Moderator of the SA Synod.
• At Si’atoutai Theological College, Rev Felicity Amery, Moderator of the Northern Synod, proclaimed God’s enduring love.
• At Kolonga Chapel, Rev Bruce Moore, Moderator of the Queensland Synod, preached a message of renewal, offering encouragement and hope. I was also privileged to offer a prayer of adoration, thanksgiving and assurance.

Following worship, the congregation at Kolonga Chapel hosted us for a joyful and overflowing feast, showcasing Tongan hospitality at its finest.

The day concluded with an evening service at Si’atoutai, where Rev ’Alifeleti ’Atiola, Rev Dr Paula Onoafe Latu and Rev Duncan Turuva reminded us that Christ’s love weaves us together across cultures and oceans.

What the Uniting Church in Australia Can Learn from the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga

As the days unfolded, I found myself reflecting not only on what we shared with the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT), but also on what the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is called to learn anew from our Pacific siblings. We come from very different social locations: the UCA is navigating ministry in a secular, multicultural, post-Christendom society, while FWCT continues to inhabit a context where faith, culture, and community life remain deeply interwoven. Yet these differences create fertile ground for mutual learning.

1.  A Deeply Embodied, Communal Faith
Tongan faith is lived with the whole body – through singing, feasting, serving, and communal rhythms shaped by land and sea. In Australia, where individualism often diminishes community, the UCA can rediscover the transformative power of embodied, relational, shared discipleship.

2.  Intergenerational Belonging
Children, youth, adults, and elders share the same spiritual space in Tonga. For the UCA, facing the painful reality of generational decline, Tonga offers a living model of an intergenerational church where each generation strengthens and sustains the other.

3.  Cultural Confidence Without Dominance
FWCT expresses the gospel confidently through Tongan culture – language, humour, ceremony, hospitality, and art. For the UCA, committed to intercultural transformation, this affirms that cultural expression is a gift and a theological witness. An intercultural church is one where every culture's song and theology are welcomed, honoured, and transformed in Christ.

4.  The Power of Rhythm, Ritual, and Hospitality
Village life, communal meals, daily prayers, Sunday rhythms, and shared responsibilities form the backbone of Tongan communal faith. These rhythms invite the UCA to cultivate intentional practices of belonging in our dispersed and hurried environment.

5.  Hospitality as Mission
In Tonga, hospitality is shaped by three interwoven cultural-theological principles: faka’apa’apa (deep respect shown through posture, words, and behaviour), fe’ofo’ofani (mutual care and compassion expressed through shared responsibility), and tauhi vā (the sacred practice of nurturing the relational space between people). Together, these values form the relational fabric of Tongan life, turning strangers into kin and transforming everyday encounters into moments of grace. They are not merely cultural courtesies but theological commitments that mirror the gospel’s call to honour one another, bear each other’s burdens, and tend the spaces where God’s love is made visible. This is not “nice hospitality”; it is theological hospitality. In a post-attractional context, the UCA is invited to embody communities where people feel seen, loved, welcomed, and woven in.

Weaving, Unweaning and Reweaving the Mat

Inspired by Rev James Bhagwan’s keynote at Tupou College, I found that the themes of weaving, unweaving and reweaving provided a profound frame for understanding everything I experienced in Tonga. His reminder that the Pacific is not Australia’s mission field but our family spoke directly to what I witnessed in homes, churches, talanoa circles, and village communities.

During the week, I saw that hospitality in Tonga is not performance – it is resistance, a spiritual resilience against forces that devalue Pacific lands, bodies and oceans. It is an embodied theology: love as activism, welcome as protection, community as survival. Every feast, every hymn, every shared story was a thread of love that pushed back against fragmentation.

Rev Bhagwan’s call to Reweaving the Ecological Mat (REM) resonated deeply with my experiences across Tongatapu. REM’s fivefold movement – seeing what is torn, unweaving toxic strands, reclaiming ancestral wisdom, reweaving just relationships, and sustaining the mat – echoes my own Uniting Decade of Intercultural Transformation proposal.

In particular, Tonga reminded me that weaving is always communal. Mats, nets, baskets, sails – none are made by one pair of hands. Likewise, our journey as the UCA requires First Nations leadership, Pacific, Asian, Middle East, African diaspora insight, accessible and inclusive worship, gender and disability justice, advocacy for seasonal workers, and structures shaped by truth-telling and mutual reciprocity.

What I experienced in Tonga – warmth, courage, humility, intergenerational strength, and spiritual depth – was not simply cultural beauty. It was a lived embodiment of the Household of God.

This President’s Conference affirmed that the future of the UCA’s intercultural identity depends on how courageously we are willing to weave, unweave and reweave – across cultures, oceans and generations.

Looking Ahead

As President-Elect, many asked whether I might consider hosting a future President’s Conference in Korea. This week has truly inspired me to consider it prayerfully. The Spirit has shown us the transforming power of intercultural fellowship – how we grow when we learn from one another, and how Christ weaves us into a shared calling.

Conclusion — Weaving Threads of Love

To the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga: mālō ’aupito. Fakafeta’i lahi. Thank you for your songs, your prayers, your food, your wisdom and your love. I return home renewed, challenged and deeply grateful.

I also offer heartfelt thanks to President Rev Charissa Suli for her courageous and grace-filled leadership in bringing us to the island of her ancestors. Through her vision and her deep love for both the Uniting Church and the Pacific, we were given the opportunity to experience the transforming love of Christ woven across cultures, oceans, and generations. This conference has been a sacred moment of intercultural encounter – a gift that will continue to shape the Uniting Church for years to come.

Lastly, I am deeply grateful to the SA Synod Mission Resourcing team for their spiritual encouragement and financial support, which enabled me to participate fully in this life-changing pilgrimage.

As I reflect today, I carry with me these threads of love – threads of justice, truth, hospitality, courage, joy, and hope. May we continue weaving them into the life of the Uniting Church, our communities, and our world. Together, may we form a tapestry that reflects the marvellous, life-giving love of Christ. Best of all, God is with us. Thanks be to God.

Rev Dr Paul Goh
18 November 2025